I've been a lurker for a while after having radioactive iodine treatment for an overactive thyroid and because I don't fully understand all that is going on lol.
I had my treatment in October and after loads of follow ups, have now been started on Levothyroxine 50mcg.
My last blood tests showed T4 was -10 and TSH was 3.28
I had blood tests yesterday so don't have those results yet but have a consultation next week.
My question is.....what does all this mean please? Should I be asking anything specific? I just don't feel right but don't know how I should feel if that makes sense?
Any help greatly appreciated 🙏
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RB74
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These results were before I started Levothyroxine and I assume are what prompted the medication?
I have now been on the Accord brand for 4 weeks....have just finished the first pack so I think I would be best checking back when I get the results from yesterday's bloods as I would have done a month at that point?
I didn't see any ranges on the letter I received but will ask at my appointment next week....that's really helpful to know what I should be asking for as I'm clueless and confusing myself.
I'm not taking any other supplements but I'd be interested to hear recommendations if you have some suggestions?
Some of us feel better on one make rather than another.
Although the information isn't much help at this stage, there is lots in helvella's medicines documents (UK and Rest of the World) which can be found here:
helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines
helvella has created, and tries to maintain, documents containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and, in less detail, many others around the world.
This link takes you to a page which has direct links to the documents from Dropbox and Google Drive, and QR codes to make it easy to access from phones.
it often depends on the fillers/excipients (in Helvella’s amazing documentation). E.g Accord contains lactose and gave me bubbling tummy, pain, indigestion, reflux within minutes of taking it, Teva (no lactose) was fine for me but for many others causes all manner of side effects (contains mannitol which seems to affect some and not others). It’s very personal but worth being mindful of. Once you find a brand that works you can actually request it always from GP and pharmacy, there are NHS guidelines for hypothyroidism that say if the patient has trouble then stick to one brand. 🌱
That's amazing information...thank you so much.I actually have the stomach symptoms but didn't realise that might be what it is so definitely one for discussion.
oh wow, made my day, so glad it was helpful. I spent 3 years on HRT having dreadful indigestion and reflux, wasn’t till I learned about lactose here that I realised that wasn’t normal 🙈 and the HRT had lactose. Not on it now, only 24 hours on Accord proved the lactose thing for me!
I have a friend who told a doctor she doesn’t need laxatives for constipation she just had a bowl of icecream 🤣 doctor was 😳😳😳 are you sure you wouldn’t prefer senakot 🤣
Is your tummy reacting to lactose or mannitol? Amazing how often it comes up here.
If it’s lactose there are two brands to try Teva (the one with mannitol lots of people don’t like, I was fine on it) and Aristo recently changed name to Vencamil the issue with the latter is it only comes in 100mcg tablets but a £3 pill splitter from Amazon allows you to halve and quarter really easily. GP or pharmacist might be ?? about splitting but reassure them you are quite capable 👏 Teva on the other hand comes in 25,50,75 and 100mcg so is often preferred for east of calculating number of tablets. 🌱
Wow....your knowledge is stunning in a minefield that thyroid problems are and taking the time to give me such a clear but detailed reply is so kind.I'm making so many notes ready for the consultant on Monday....he's going to wonder who I am with all my questions lol
I normally go absolutely clueless and agree with everything I'm told so he will be shocked....can't wait.
If you tell the consultant that your bloods must be done before 9am and that last dose of Levo needs to be 24hrs before, he will poo-poo it. This is patient wisdom from many years of trial and error. So just keep that information to yourself.
Take written list of symptoms with you and either give them to him or talk about them. Everything that seems off should be written down so that you don't forget anything.
Keep a folder of all your printed test results and notes. It's invaluable.
The Aristo didn't actually changes its name to Vencamil.
They supply the exact same tablets under BOTH "Levothyroxine" (generic) and "Vencamil" (brand). It is easier for a doctor to write the brand if they intend you to get the Aristo product than add a note hoping the pharmacist agrees.
But one box says "Levothyroxine Aristo 100 micrograms tablets levothyroxine sodium"; the other says "Vencamil 100 micrograms tablets Levothyroxine sodium"
Both have the Aristo name logo at bottom right of the pack.
The pharmacist could order either product. The PIP numbers (codes that pharmacists use for ordering) are different. The prices are identical (according to the documentation I can access).
But to prescribe one, the GP can simply write "Vencamil 100 micrograms 28 tablets". To prescribe the other, they have to write "Levothyroxine sodium 100 micrograms 28 tablets (Aristo Pharma)". And that probably also means they have to literally type the company name in. If they do something wrong, like put "Aristo Pharma" on the second line, it will most likely get ignored.
BOTH are available - the Vencamil packaged version was added to available products and it didn't replace the existing product.
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